The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints News Archives

God created us male and female. What we call gender was an essential characteristic of our existence prior to our birth.

... Attraction between man and woman was instilled by the Creator to ensure the perpetuation of mortal life and to draw husband and wife together in the family setting he prescribed for the accomplishment of his purposes, including the raising of children. In contrast, deviations from God’s commandments in the use of procreative powers are grave sins.

Watch and share a new Mormon Messages video, “In the Spirit of Thanksgiving,” to see a variety of grateful responses to one simple question: “What are you thankful for?” For additional inspirational messages on this subject, visit the Gratitude topic page. This video is also available in Spanish.

Though this post is by it's very nature heavily self-indulgent, I am going to try to spin it as more altruistic than it is.

A new poll shows 69 percent of Utahns think state lawmakers and Gov. Gary Herbert should push to pass statewide anti-discrimination laws to protect gays.

Here's the third installment of readers' stories - from France to Japan and many places in between - about their experiences encountering other Mormons in unexpected places.

Two people were hospitalized following a shooting late Friday night at a dance held in a church.

Alyssa Bustamante, the 15 year old who has confessed to the brutal murder in Missouri of 9 year old Elizabeth Olten , may have shown signs of severe disturbance for 2 years prior to the murder.

Elva Sarah Fenn Webb, beloved wife, mother and grandmother, passed away Nov. 21, 2009 of natural causes.

She's funny, she's had a boob job and she's just written a book that could see her thrown out of her church ...

One of Hollywood's biggest moguls gave up that life a few years ago to help the poorest children in Cambodia.

The first time Lorin Nicholson read the Book of Mormon, it took him seven years to get through it.

October annually brings typhoons and other severe storms to South Asia, and this year was no exception.

Steven Morriss completed his Eagle Scout project Nov. 14 with the help of 15 volunteers.

The 6th Annual Community Christmas Program will be held December 3rd - 5th at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints located at 29725 Bradley Rd., Menifee, CA 92586.

That is not the only interesting question, but it is probably the most important.

America's Best Christian, Mrs. Betty Bowers , is spreading the good word again with a new video release called "Less Is Mormon!" Bowers, leader of several ministries including BASH and BLAME , calls the Constitution "something people sore about losing an election suddenly pretend to care about." Bowers bad mouths the Mormons for their ...

Intersex activist Tia Owen speaks at an Affirmation conference two years ago. The group caters to LGBT Mormons.

Mrs. Betty Bowers, America's Best Christian, takes on the Mormons and the doling out of civil rights by popular vote.

Meet with other members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints here to discuss parenting and lifestyle issues.

A proposed north Phoenix Mormon temple is drawing more fire from area residents.

Last week we talked about the frontier treasure-digging environment in which Joseph Smith lived and how his own pre-prophet world view was shaped by that environment.

For decades the Mormon Church has been compiling one of the largest genealogical databases in the world.

"The pain was sharp ... a deep ache ... a painful ache I had never experienced before," Alouettes slotback Ben Cahoon says of being stabbed through his right hand during a 1993 Mormon Church Mission in Philadelphia.

"...The official statement from the Mormon church regarding abortion is as follows: "In today's society, abortion has become a common practice, defended by deceptive arguments.

Larry Jay Fairbank, the son of Jerry and Ellen Fairbank of 4668 Ashville Road, Ashville, will serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 851 Forest Ave., Jamestown.

The recently announced LDS temple in Philadelphia will be erected in the city's historic downtown.

It looked like a stunning reversal: the same church that helped defeat gay marriage in California standing with gay-rights activists on an antidiscrimination law in its own backyard.

I hope you might indulge me a few additional comments about the developments here in Utah .

The Twilight Saga: New Moon Directed by Chris Weitz. Written by Melissa Rosenberg.

What the obsession with other peoples' underwear? I cana TMt imagine making fun of someone wearing a yarmulke.

The site of the future Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple has been announced by the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a step closer to getting a temple built in northwest Phoenix, despite opposition from some neighbors.

Secret Gay/LDS Meetings Temple Tiptoe: Gay rights activists cautiously engage LDS Church officials.

Historical novels tend to have an informative, dry tone, dragging on about facts, figures and death without a necessary compelling interest to keep reading.

Brown County will hold a swine flu vaccine clinic for expanded high-risk target groups from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 651 Pinehurst Ave.

Richard Adams is pictured with his family : Erica, wife Cindy, Rick, Carrie, Brooke and Blake.

Andrew reacts to the Mormon Church's backing of a gay rights ordinance in Salt Lake City... Gays should and must reciprocate.

Utah's 4th congressional district received more than $1.1 million in stimulus funds, according to President Obama's Recovery.org website.

Park City could be Utah's second municipality to consider ordinances to protect renters and employees from discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender.

There wasn't much about the three men, other than their considerable height, that drew even the most casual glance in San Francisco's Civic Center Plaza.

Wanda Eileen Barzee pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal charges stemming from the 2002 abduction of Utah teenager Elizabeth Smart, prosecutors said.

Tupito Soliai leads Tafuna 2nd ward Relief Society sisters in a crowd stomping performance of ABBAa s Dancing Queen, during the LDS Pago Central Stake Relief Society talent show that kicked off their three day annual conference this past weekend.

A Mormon youth leader in Oregon has been accused of sexually abusing a boy in the mid-1970s in a lawsuit filed today in Portland.

Three brothers who claim they were sexually molested by their Boy Scout and Mormon youth leader in the 1970s and 1980s have sued both organizations.The suit filed in San Francisco Superior Court alleges that church officials in Sunnyvale ignored complaints of abuse from the three boys and failed to notify law enforcement.The plaintiffs, identified ...

TLC is launching a new reality show called Family Armor that follows the exploits of two Mormon brothers-in-law that build bulletproof cars for a living.

The Salt Lake City government sold a plaza to the Mormon Church, leading to a lawsuit that alleged the sale to be a sham, giving the church power to limit free speech in a place that should have remained open to the public.

The attorney at the center of a number of high-profile cases against the Mormon church plans to file another round of lawsuits Monday.

Hours after the LDS Church announced its support Tuesday night of proposed Salt Lake City ordinances aimed at protecting gay and transgender residents from discrimination in housing and employment, the City Council unanimously approved the measures.

To many Mormons, LDS President Gordon B. Hinckley's March 2001 announcement of the Perpetual Education Fund carried the weight of divine revelation.

Ensign Federal Credit Union members can find questions and answers about the change in ownership at http://www.ensignfcu.org/news.asp Another Las Vegas-area credit union has failed, with regulators on Friday liquidating the 48-year-old Ensign Federal Credit Union of Henderson.

The Osmond Family is the Mormon Church's version of the Manson Family. Mormons wear magical underwear, and Joseph Smith was killed because he forgot to put his on.

The Salt Lake City Council passed two ordinances on Tuesday, prohibiting employment and housing discrimination against LGBT members of the community.

Published: Thursday, November 12, 2009 at 4:01 a.m. Last Modified: Thursday, November 12, 2009 at 2:09 a.m. It looked like a stunning reversal: the same church that helped defeat gay marriage in California standing with gay-rights activists on an anti-discrimination law in its own backyard.

Visitation for Sgt. Dale Griffin took place Tuesday evening at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Terre Haute, as friends and family prepare to say good bye to Sgt.

For the second year, about 100 teenagers and children from Fayetteville North Carolina Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, bleary-eyed and bundled up, gathered on a chilly Saturday morning at the Sandhills State Veterans Cemetery just outside Fort Bragg.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in addition to other Christian faiths against the notion of "gay marriage," has received much attention in the aftermath of California's Proposition 8. Earlier this week, the Church "declared its support of nondiscrimination regulations that would extend protection in matters of housing and ...

Following the Salt Lake City Council's passage of two gay rights measures with the backing of the Church of Latter-day Saints, the possibility of passing a similar law in the state may come with the church's support.

Since Friday's massacre at Fort Hood, NewsBusters has been covering the efforts of several news outlets, including the New York Times, to warn of Muslim persecution in America.

The Foundation for Reconciliation, a group geared toward reconciling Mormon beliefs with homosexuality, yesterday pulled a handcart through Salt Lake City to deliver 2,000 petitions to the LDS Church, demanding they stop hating on the 'mos. "The trek drew its inspiration from the famed efforts of LDS Church leaders to rescue members of the Martin ...

Authorities on Wednesday were searching a rural property in western Missouri for bodies and buried glass jars containing notes written more than 15 years ago by children who may have documented sexual abuse by five members of their own family.

Texas Armoring Corporation , a Mormon-owned vehicle bulletproofing business based in San Antonio, Texas, announced today that it has been cast in TLC's newest reality TV special entitled, " FAMILY ARMOR ." The show, which has been carefully paired with network favorites like "Street Customs" and "American Chopper," has been described by industry ...

Terre Haute, like a lot of places, has an annual Veterans Day parade -- vintage convertibles, dignitaries, high school bands playing Sousa marches, soldiers from long-ago wars wearing bits of their old uniforms.

With a historic endorsement from the Mormon church, the Salt Lake City Council unanimously passed a pair of ordinances making it illegal to discriminate against gays in housing and employment.

A former seminary principal accused of having a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old student pleaded not guilty Tuesday to 15 felonies.

The Phoenix Planning Commission on Tuesday will consider a request by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to build a temple at 5104 W. Pinnacle Peak Road.

Bitterness describes more than just the cold weather experienced by a group of Mormons on their trek across the Midwest.

A foundation that supports gay rights has delivered a petition to Mormon church leaders asking them to reconsider their policies and political activism against gay marriage.

Defense attorneys for the man charged in the abduction of Elizabeth Smart argued Monday testimony by experts in Mormon fundamentalism and religious extremism is irrelevant and should not be allowed at a hearing to decide the suspect's mental competency.

In an Oct. 13 speech, Elder Dallin H. Oaks made an analogy comparing the "effect" of Proposition 8 protests on Mormons to the chilling effect on African-American political participation felt during the civil rights era.

Funeral arrangements have been made for a fallen Wabash Valley soldier. Sgt. Dale Griffin was killed in Afghanistan last week when the vehicle he was riding in hit an improvised explosive device.

As I sat in fast and testimony meeting last week a sister in the congregation got up and talked about what it means to be set apart as a missionary.

On Thursday, Stephen Colbert ran a short story about a gay couple that was arrested in Utah for trespassing on LDS Mormon Church property.

Douglas M. Parks, Blue Ridge Summit, on Oct. 18 was called as second counselor in the York Stake presidency in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Court case sheds light on Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, where it is alleged that bigamy and sexual abuse of girls, some as young as 12, are widespread.

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First responders use a table as a stretcher to transport a wounded Soldier to an awaiting ambulance at Fort Hood, Texas, Nov.

The Perpetual Education Fund was taken to young adults of the church's Lusaka Zambia District for the first time with a recent visit by Elder James C. Von Stetten and Sister Aleta Maureen Von Stetten, area missionaries for the PEF in the Africa Southeast Area.

Members of the Foundation for Reconciliation, a gay Mormon group, delivered more than 2,000 petition signatures by handcart to the headquarters of the Church of Latter Day Saints in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, marking the one-year anniversary of Proposition 8 in California.

A DNA analyst testified Friday that tests shows a member of a polygamist sect on trial for sexual assault is 99.9 percent likely to have fathered the child born to an underage girl.

Marriage Equality New York holding rally tonight to protest anti-gay vote in Maine : "Please join us at a rally on Nov 4th in Union Square on 14th Street side at 5:30pm urging the NYS Senate to vote and in response to the votes on marriage equality across the United States." 50 Cent is a power ______ . Venezuelan police harassing and arresting LGBT ...

The Reconciliation Foundation and those backing LGBT rights, many who are also of Mormon faith, delivered a petition to LDS Church leaders Wednesday afternoon.

From Maine to Utah, gay rights supporters are vowing to press forward for same-sex marriage or recognition of committed relationships.

It was the kiss heard 'round Salt Lake: Derek Jones and Matt Aune smooched in front of the Mormon Church on Main Street , and forced LDS to go and spend a few bucks erecting new warning signs .

Loved ones will say their final goodbyes to Fabiana Malave today. 19-year-old Malave was found raped and murdered last week in Seminole County.

I just finished reading Terryl Givens' The Book of Mormon: A Very Short Introduction , a recent addition to Oxford University Press's wildly successful VSI series.

Elna Baker 's new memoir , The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance ,A A is billed as a coming of age story of a Mormon girl in New York, a virginal Mormon girl in the face of Carrie Bradshaw's City.

It's easy. Send a link to the story you were just reading to a friend. Just fill out the form on this page and we'll send it along.

The irony of LDS Apostle Dallin H. Oaks' statement comparing the recent backlash against supporters of California's anti-gay marriage Proposition 8 to the intimidation of anti-Jim Crow activists is absolutely staggering .

I love The Book of Mormon ! Last November I began reading it again from cover to cover and recently finished it on October 9th.

It's easy. Send a link to the story you were just reading to a friend. Just fill out the form on this page and we'll send it along.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints recently delivered a shipment of bedding, clothing, household items and assorted shoes to the Salvation Army in Athens to help the local charity restock after a fire in July.

Trivia fact for the day: the Mormon church operated a newspaper, the St. Louis Luminary, from November 1854 to December 1855.

Robert Millet would do things differently if he were carefully strategizing how fellow Mormons could best pursue interfaith contacts.

I love muffins! Almond, banana, chocolate! Apple, blueberry, cherry! Love'm, love'm, love'm! This is one man's tribute to America's tastiest quick bread, so if you don't want to learn everything there is to know about muffins, stop reading now.